FR3067006A1 - BOTTLE MAKING MACHINE - Google Patents

Abstract

A machine for producing labeled and filled bottles, comprising: - a blower equipped with a blowing wheel equipped with a plurality of blowing stations each having a mold, - a labeling wheel receiving the bottles and scrolling in front of a blowing wheel. or a plurality of labeling heads - a bottle outlet wheel provided with a plurality of gripping arms adapted to extract the blown bottles from the blow molds, said arms being arranged to reduce the pitch between two successive bottles, - a transfer table designed to continuously and positively transfer the bottles from the bottle exit wheel to the labeling wheel, characterized in that the labeling wheel comprises a plurality of gripping and pressurizing station of a bottle to be labeled, a pressure sensor of a gas in the pressurized bottle, and a calculation unit, connected to the sensor and designed to detect a leak from the bottle before the bottle arrives under the first labeling quest

Description

BOTTLE MANUFACTURING MACHINE

The invention relates to a machine for manufacturing labeled bottles filled and capped from a preform.

More particularly, the machine is of the BLF (Blower Labeller Filler) type in which the bottles are first formed from a preform then labeled without liquid inside then filled, and finally capped.

This type of machine ensures the various treatments (blowing, labeling, filling, capping) by permanently taking the preform / bottle treated so as to obtain a high production rate. This type of machine implements a continuous and positive transfer of the treated bottles without buffer storage. That is to say that the flow rate of the bottles is constant throughout the machine.

The blower is of the rotary blower type, equipped with a plurality of blowing stations, for example 12 or 24, arranged at the periphery of a blowing wheel. Each blowing station is equipped in a known manner with a bulky blowing mold and having to be opened to take out the bottle after forming. Thus, the distance between the axes of the bottles formed by the blower is wide, of the order of 500 mm while the bottles themselves are often of a diameter less than 100 mm. When the blown bottle is evacuated from the blowing machine, the distance between two successively treated bottles is then reduced in order to be able to decrease the linear speed of travel of the treated bottles while keeping the flow rate in bottles per second constant. In known manner, the reduction of the pitch between two successive bottles is carried out using a pitch change wheel equipped with oscillating and telescopic arms.

Patent EP 1017588 describes a combination of a blower and a labeling machine in which the distance between two successive bottles is reduced in a single pitch change wheel, used to extract the bottles from the mold. The bottles are then labeled directly, that is to say without treatment before labeling. Any filling takes place after labeling.

-2The inventor realized that this type of machine requires additional treatment, such as marking the bottle. For example, this marking can be used to indicate the date of manufacture, or the expiration date of consumption or a batch number ... In known manner, this marking is done downstream of the stopper. This is the disadvantage of requiring an additional processing machine. This penalizes the overall size of the processing machine.

Another disadvantage of the machine described in document EP1017588 is that the change of pitch in the bottle outlet wheel is accompanied by very strong accelerations and decelerations. This phenomenon limits the production rate, or at a high rate this phenomenon limits the type of bottle that can be treated. There has been a new need to process increasingly thin and light bottles to reduce the cost of the plastic used and reduce environmental risks.

The invention aims to produce labeled, filled and capped bottles by improving the production rate and / or the fineness of the treated bottles.

According to a first aspect, the invention relates to a machine for producing labeled and then filled bottles, comprising:

a blower provided with a blowing wheel equipped with a plurality of blowing stations each having a mold,

- a labeling wheel receiving the bottles and scrolling them in front of one or more labeling heads

a bottle outlet wheel provided with a plurality of gripping arms designed to extract the blown bottles from the blowing molds, said arms being arranged to reduce the pitch between two successive bottles,

- a transfer table designed to continuously and positively transfer the bottles from the bottle outlet wheel to the labeling wheel, characterized in that the bottle outlet wheel is a first step change wheel, the transfer table comprising a second pitch change wheel.

It is understood that such a machine makes it possible to distribute the required pitch changes between the blowing wheel and the labeling wheel, in two separate pitch changing wheels, this allows less

-3 brutalize the treated bottles, and thus be able to improve the production rate and / or the fineness of the treated bottles

Advantageously, the transfer table comprises upstream in the direction of travel of the bottles, an upstream wheel equipped with clamps arranged in fixed pitch around the upstream wheel, and receiving the bottles from the first pitch change wheel, the second wheel pitch change being downstream of the upstream wheel. Having a fixed pitch wheel between the two pitch change wheels improves transfer reliability.

According to another aspect, the invention relates to a machine for producing labeled and then filled bottles, comprising:

a blower provided with a blowing wheel equipped with a plurality of blowing stations each having a mold,

- a labeling wheel receiving the bottles and scrolling them in front of one or more labeling heads

a bottle outlet wheel provided with a plurality of gripping arms designed to extract the blown bottles from the blowing molds, said arms being arranged to reduce the pitch between two successive bottles,

- a transfer table designed to continuously and positively transfer the bottles from the bottle outlet wheel to the labeling wheel, characterized in that the transfer table comprises a marking head for each bottle transferred.

We understand that such a machine takes advantage of the necessary transfer between the blower and the filler to add additional processing. This counteracts the technical bias mentioned in document EP 1017588. This avoids adding a marker downstream of the machine and gains in compactness.

Advantageously, the marking head is of the laser marking or ink jet type.

According to yet another aspect, the invention relates to a machine for producing labeled and then filled bottles, comprising:

a blower provided with a blowing wheel equipped with a plurality of blowing stations each having a mold,

- a labeling wheel receiving the bottles and scrolling them in front of one or more labeling heads

a bottle outlet wheel provided with a plurality of gripping arms designed to extract the blown bottles from the blowing molds, said arms being arranged to reduce the pitch between two successive bottles,

- a transfer table designed to continuously and positively transfer the bottles from the bottle outlet wheel to the labeling wheel, characterized in that the labeling wheel comprises a plurality of gripping and pressurization stations of a bottle to be labeled, a pressure sensor of a gas in the pressurized bottle, and a calculating unit, connected to the sensor and designed to detect a leak in the bottle before the bottle arrives at the first labeling quest

In known manner, the labeling machine equipped with a gripping and pressurizing station for each treated bottle, makes it possible to label thinner bottles, because the geometry of the bottle is maintained by internal pressure. Surprisingly, the inventor realized that detecting the evolution of this pressure made it possible to detect a leak in the bottle and to avoid labeling it and above all filling it unnecessarily. This leak test carried out before labeling improves the reliability of the overall machine by preventing a breakdown in the subsequent filling machine.

Figure 1 illustrates the three aspects of the invention which can be implemented simultaneously or independently of each other.

FIG. 2 illustrates a simplified top view of the bottle outlet wheel and the transfer table,

Figure 3 illustrates the third aspect of the invention.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the machine comprises a blowing wheel 1 whose molds are not visible, and a bottle outlet wheel, whose pivoting and telescopic arms, known per se, have been omitted. The machine further comprises a transfer table, comprising an upstream wheel 3, equipped with articulated clamps. The articulated clamps are ordered but the average position of the clamps remains fixed. The clamps are distributed around the upstream wheel.

A laser marking head 4 is placed opposite the upstream wheel 3 so as to mark in the parade, a code on each bottle passing through the upstream wheel 3.

The transfer table also includes a second pitch-changing wheel 5, the swivel and telescopic arms of which have not been shown. The transfer table here includes only the upstream wheel 3 and the second pitch change wheel 5 which directly feeds the input wheel of the label maker illustrated in FIG. 3. However, the transfer table could include other wheels transfer. This possibility allows more flexibility in machine design.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the labeling machine comprises an entry wheel on the right of FIG. 3, a labeling wheel in the center, and an exit wheel on the left of FIG. 3. The bottles delivered by the arms of the second pitch change wheel 5 is returned to the input wheel.

The labeling wheel comprises a plurality, not shown, of gripping and pressurizing stations, known per se. These stations each include a cup on which the bottom of the bottle rests and comprises a frusto-conical nozzle sealingly bearing on the rim of the bottle and pressing the bottle against the cup. Thus, each bottle is held between its bottom and its rim. The nozzle then sends a gas, which may be air, inside the bottle, so that the bottle is at a pressure higher than atmospheric pressure. This allows the labeling head to see a firm, properly positioned bottle in space when the label is deposited.

According to one aspect of the invention, each pressurizing gripping station comprises a pressure sensor. A calculation unit measures the pressure and the pressure evolution, from the end of pressurization (sector C in FIG. 3) to a sector indicated D in FIG. 3, where the first marking head is installed. During this time if the pressure in the bottle decreases faster than a predetermined threshold, the calculation unit then interprets this as indicating the presence of a leak in the bottle.

Laser marking or leak detection are additional treatments introduced between blowing and labeling.

Claims (5)

1. Machine for producing labeled and then filled bottles, comprising: a blower provided with a blowing wheel equipped with a plurality of blowing stations each having a mold, - a labeling wheel receiving the bottles and scrolling them in front of one or more labeling heads a bottle outlet wheel provided with a plurality of gripping arms designed to extract the blown bottles from the blowing molds, said arms being arranged to reduce the pitch between two successive bottles, - a transfer table designed to continuously and positively transfer the bottles from the bottle outlet wheel to the labeling wheel, characterized in that the bottle outlet wheel is a first step change wheel, the transfer table comprising a second pitch change wheel. 2. Machine according to claim 1, wherein the transfer table comprises upstream in the direction of travel of the bottles, an upstream wheel equipped with clamps arranged in fixed pitch around the upstream wheel, and receiving the bottles from the first wheel of pitch change, the second pitch change wheel being downstream of the upstream wheel. 3. Machine for producing labeled and then filled bottles, comprising: a blower provided with a blowing wheel equipped with a plurality of blowing stations each having a mold, - a labeling wheel receiving the bottles and scrolling them in front of one or more labeling heads a bottle outlet wheel provided with a plurality of gripping arms designed to extract the blown bottles from the blowing molds, said arms being arranged to reduce the pitch between two successive bottles, - a transfer table designed to continuously and positively transfer the bottles from the bottle outlet wheel to the labeling wheel, characterized in that the transfer table comprises a marking head for each bottle transferred. 4. Machine according to claim 3, wherein the marking head is of the type with laser marking or ink jet. 5. Machine for producing labeled and then filled bottles, comprising: a blower provided with a blowing wheel equipped with a plurality of blowing stations each having a mold, - a labeling wheel receiving the bottles and scrolling them in front of one or more labeling heads a bottle outlet wheel provided with a plurality of gripping arms designed to extract the blown bottles from the blowing molds, said arms being arranged to reduce the pitch between two successive bottles, - a transfer table designed to continuously and positively transfer the bottles from the bottle outlet wheel to the labeling wheel, characterized in that the labeling wheel comprises a plurality of gripping and pressurization stations of a bottle to be labeled, a pressure sensor of a gas in the pressurized bottle, and a calculation unit, connected to the sensor and designed to detect a leak in the bottle before the bottle arrives at the first labeling quest.